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Alma/Primo VE Migration

Patron Management

Patron Management

User Management includes all aspects of maintaining patron records in Alma. Specifically, it covers:

  • Creating and Editing User Records Manually
  • Adding and Deleting Notes in User Records (See Patron Notes tab)
  • Adding and Deleting Blocks in User Records

See each of the pages of this section for details.

Patron Record Management

View the Patron Record

The Patron Services page displays the following core patron information:

  • Patron name
  • ID
  • User group
  • Fines/Fees)
  • Notes
  • Blocks

For more information on the User Notes tab, see Adding Patron Notes.

 

To Bring Up a Patron's Record:

  1. Go to Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services
  2. Scan in the patron's card number or enter their name in the search bar
  3. Click on the appropriate area of the patron record


    Note: All patrons must have the "Patron" role under the User Roles section at the bottom of the General Information tab. To add the role, click on Add Role, activate the Patron role, choose Law Library from the Scope drop down menu, and click Save Role.

Creating User Records

Adding a User

Your student patrons will be automatically added to Alma via your Student Information System (SIS) Load file. However, there may be times when you need to manually add a patron. This may include TRLN users, new students, and often faculty or staff (if they are not auto-loaded). Be sure, whenever possible, to include any identifier that is used on your campus in order to allow your SIS load to match later (ID = Banner ID). This may happen if the user is created in the SIS but not yet loaded into Alma.

  1. Under Fulfillment > Manage Patron Services, select Register New User from the top right side of the screen. The following screen should appear:


     
  2. Fill out the user's information:
    • Required fields are determined by your configuration settings.
    • Enter first and last name.
    • Primary Identifier is required (Banner ID). The system will automatically generate a number for you. Make sure to delete it and fill in the box with the patron's Banner ID. TRLN patrons should be added with the barcode or university ID used at their university (Duke, UNC, NC State).
    • User group is important for determining loan privileges.
    • Required - Enter an expiration date and a purge date. These dates should be the same. Law School expiration dates should be:
      • Day Students = 3 years ending in August of their graduation year
      • Evening students 4 years ending in August of their graduation year
      • Faculty and Staff = 10 years
    • User Management Information:
      • Select ‘Patron has institutional record=Yes’ if this user will have a record in the institution’s User Information system (SIS), and enter their institutional identifier in the User Identifier Value field. Doing so creates a temporary record for the user, enabling them to borrow items, and ensures that the temporary record will be merged with the master copy of the patron record in the external system. You don't need to set a password for these accounts.
    • ​If the user will not have a record in the SIS, for example a community borrower, select ‘Patron has institutional record=No’ and if you're allowing community borrowers to log into Primo, scroll up and enter a password for the user. This is the password they will use to log-in to Primo. You can select the ‘Force password change on next login’ check box to ensure the patron selects a new password the first time they log-in.
    • Add an email address and optionally, a phone number.
  3. Click Update User.
     

Editing Patron Records

To edit the full record including adding roles, profiles, etc. search for patron in the search box at the top of the Alma screen and click Go. Click on the patron's name to edit their record. 

For more information from Ex Libris Knowledgebase: Alma Managing Users

Checking Items Out to Blocked Patrons

If you attempt to check out items to a patron that is blocked, a pop up will appear when you enter their ID/name.
An image of the patron identification screen
An image of the Blocks pop up screen

Depending on your permissions, you will have either two or three options.

  1. Click "Cancel" to exit the screen without further action.
  2. Click "OK" to view the patron's record.
  3. If you have the appropriate permissions, click "Override" to ignore the block and check out items to the patron as usual.
    An image of the Blocks screen with the Override button highlighted
    Alternately, while viewing the patron's record you can override the block by attempting to loan an item as usual. A pop up similar to the first will appear. Click "Override".
    An image of the Loan blocked screen with the Override button highlighted


Removing a Patron Block

  1. To remove a patron block, begin by searching for the patron record, outlined in the section "How to look up a patron without an ID card". Then on the Find and Manage Users screen, click on the ellipsis under "Notes".

    An image of the Find and Manage Users screen, with the ellipsis highlighted
     
  2. A drop down menu will open. Click "Edit".
    An image of the Notes drop down menu with Edit highlighted
  3. The User Details screen will open. Click the "Blocks" tab.

    An image of the User Details screen with the Blocks tab highlighted
     
  4. Patron blocks will be displayed. Under "Active", toggle off any blocks you want to stop applying to the patron's record.
    An image of the User Details slash Blocks screen with the active toggle highlighted
  5. Click "Save".
    An image of the User Details slash Blocks screen with the Save button highlighted